A cold day in France
by Tower
Summary: after waking up and not knowing where he is, Medic Wade experiences the most strangest event
1. A cold one

HI! AN: somewhat based on the novel more than the movie. From the novel, there is a jeep scene that never made final cut. That would explain how I got the jeep. And trust me, they All FIT into that jeep even though it was cramped, so i'm just saying what the screenplay said. And Rieben and Wade have a huge argument too. --It's kind of sad...

* * *

It was a cold day in France, and a small herd of cows moseyed on by. As the wind picked up more, so did the cows, looking for the nearest tree. The cows didn't give a care in the world of the unconscious man lying yards away in the mud-grass terrain.

Miraculously, the man's hand twitched with alertness and he was soon opening his mud incrusted eyes. He had no idea were he was and how he got there but he only remembered falling. He must have hit his head pretty hard. He could only remember vaguely things here and there.

"What in jesus?"

Total confusion this was. He knew his name was Edward Wade (well, actually called 'Irwin' by the guys) and he was a Corporal in the U.S. Army and at 28, one of the oldest of Captain Miller's boys. He had lived in San Diego, California before he was drafted in the Army and War began.

He remembered riding in the jeep the Captain had got for the little 'mission' to save some nockhead. They came under fire and Horvath drove in a pit hole. Where was every body?

"Jackson! Capt. Miller? Hey Rieben, are you here somewhere?"

He started to remember what Rieben was just saying before they just disappeared...

* * *

"I'm tellin' ya, shootin' japs is easier, on account for Nips don't look as much like people as krauts do." Reiben walked in front of Mellish, having his usual 'I now it all, don't kid yourself' discussions.

"I don't have any trouble shootin' krauts,' Mellish said.

"Killing a man is killing a man," Wade said, "no matter what he looks like."

Reiben looked at Wade. "They're all cocksuckers and pricks. Always have been. It's in the blood." He observed.

Miller gazed at Reiben. "So what about Beethoven?"

Reiben smiled. "A prick."

"Martin Luther?"

"Cocksucker."

"Hey," Sarge growled from tail end, "I'm a Lutheran!"

"What about Emmanuel Kant?" Upham asked.

Reiben crinkled his nose. "Who?"

"He was a great philosopher."

"Prick."

"Yeah? Well what about Marlene Dietrich?" Jackson asked.

"Cocksucker," Reiben said. Then he grinned. "but that could just be wishful thinkin'..."

Everybody laughed, even Wade. Upham looked out into the distance,

"Still, they can't all be pricks."

Reiben rolled his eyes at him, "Yes they can." He said.

Wade, being serious, snapped, "Are you listening to yourself?"

"Would you," Mellish poked in, "If you were him?"

Wade took this to seriously now.

"Let me get this straight. You think, Reiben, that there is no decent man, woman or child in their entire country?"

"Aw, now your being to generous, my man. I'd include every dog, cat and squirrel, Wade." Reiben said. "Every sauerkraut snapping, schnitzel munching son of bitches, Hitler lovin' thing that breathes. All pricks."

"Reiben," Wade said, with no humor at all, "you have to be the most backward, bigoted, ignorant excuse for a human being I've ever met!"

"Maybe," Reiben said. "But I'm not a prick or a cocksucker. Come on, name me one decent German? Huh?"

Nobody said anything. He smiled. "Not so easy is it?"

"Not when Martin Luther's a prick," Miller said, "It isn't."

"Albert Schweitzer," Wade said.

"Who?"

"He's a German."

Reiben had an expression of 'dog poo' under his boot. "He already sounds like a prick."

Wade was shaking his head, frustrated. "Albert Schweitzer's only the most famous fuking Doctor in History! Spent thirty years in Africa, helping natives..."

"Why'd he do that?"

Wade exploded: "Because he was trying to help his fellow man! Because he isn't a selfish asshole like you, Reiben!"

"Hey, you think I came to France for the cheese?"

Jackson inturupted, "Why don't you just shut-up, Reiben?"

But Wade ran up and pushed Reiben from behind. Reiben spun around.

The usually calm Wade was getting worked up.

"Look shit head...Albert Schweitzer is the reason I became a doctor in the first place. So the next time you step on a land mine, you better hope I feel like slappin' a bandage on an asshole like you!"

Reiben started to do his famous smirk at Wade. The group was silent, listening to the two fight it out. Caparzo thought this entertaining very much.

"What?" Wade demanded.

"Nothin'"

"WHAT?" Wade asked again.

"It's just I thought you said both your parents are doctors."

"Yeah, so?"

Reiben had mock shock in his voice. "And it takes some fucking prick kruat to convince you to go into the family business?"

"Sombody hand me a weapon," Wade said.

Miller called back to Reiben, "Reiben lose an argument, for once, Okay? Albert Schweitzer was not a prick or a cocksucker. You, however, are an asshole."

They all giggled except Wade. He was quiet...

* * *

Wade urged his sore body to rise and his steel helmet forced him to stay. He was weak and could hardly move at first.

"I hate grass. I hate this mud, I hate being freakin lost. Hell, I hate France!" He yelled for no one to hear. Flinging his arms wildly.

The rain trickling down his helmet and on to his shoulders, he looked around. There was absolutely nothing in all direction but tall grass.

"RAIN! It always has to rain dusn't it?"

He took off his helmet, shook his wet hair and put it back on again.

I hate France! He thought once again, glaring out into the distance. He looked back down in the dirt and turned his body over to look for his rifle. Oh yeah, he doesn't have a rifle-

"Damn it!"

Then he saw a small piece of something sticking out of the mud and he reached over and pulled at it but to his astonishment he pulled out a muddy skull. It was the skull of a human being. At that moment something odd happened and he leaned over and vomited,

his eyes blurry and dark.

FLASH

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Wade looked up and really looked around the place. There was dry tall grass that stretched forever and it was evening just before the sun set over familiar hills; it no longer was raining either, which was good. Wade gazed around. He hadn't noticed it had stopped raining so quickly.

"Okay, I think I'm done with this war thing. I've gone completely crazy now."

The air smelled odd around him; kind of misty and surreal.

He looked to his left and what he saw made him drop to the ground. There was a small house and a young girl wearing a bright red dress came from the old fashioned house, running as fast as she could.

She ran towards Wade through the tall grass, and as she got closer Wade realized she wasn't as young as he thought she was. Her petite and fragile figure made her seem to be only twelve but now he guessed she was fifteen or sixteen. She looked tired and upset as she ran closer to Wade;

he noticed she was sobbing. Then he heard gun fire.

Next chapter peoples!


	2. Jackson

_**AN: Okay, it gets weird.**_

__

He pushed himself, although with pain, and stood up from the cold earth and cleared his dry throat.

"Hey! Get down!"

She ignored him.

He asked again "Look kid, you gotta stay down if you don't want 'em to see you."

She ran right past him with out a glance then swung around, stared, and startled him by saying his name -

"_Irwin..."_ How did she know his name? This place creeped him out so bad but he had no other option right now but to run after her. He pulled his wet medic pack over his shoulders and ran after her for a ways until she finally stopped at the edge of the yellow sea of grass.

Wade stood next to the girl as she fell to her knees, shaking a little as she whispered a faint

"_No_."

He looked down upon her, noticing that her dress wasn't red on purpose. She had blood soaked down her front. It wasn't her blood . . . . . .

A sudden spine chilling cry pierced his ears as men screamed in the distance.

"_She ran this way Captain!"_

The girl jerked her head up at the noise and Wade looked abruptly to the west. He noticed that soldiers were running from the house out towards the field. The voices were English.

"American soldiers? _British?"_ He said to her. He had a feeling they weren't his rescue team or the girl's . . . . . she just looked at him, holding her bloody hand out to him.

"What are you doing? Are they shooting at you?!"

He heard them coming closer and foot steps of approaching. He got a glimpse of olive drab uniforms.

"This can't be! Americans soldiers shouldn't be hurting people!!" Wade panicked and squatted down and grabbed at her arm and was stunned as his hand grasped hers.

He must not be in a dream because she felt so real! She was cold and clammy, like the dead often felt like.

Wade gave a shudder and he watched her as she tried to get up, her foot caught in a sink hole of mud and she could not pull herself out. The girl turned her face to look up at him and said with sorrow in her voice. Her brown hair clumped in mud.

"They will kill me_. Help_ me, Irwin." she squeezed his arm firmly.

"It's okay, honey. I'll help you, just hang on there."

Wade peaked up from the tall grass and a sudden gasp caught in his throat. The man coming closes to him was-

_Pvt. Mellish_! Mellish's face twisted in amusement and he called out to the little girl. A look he never wanted to see on Mellish.

"Here kitty. Come here darling we won't bite . . . . _yet_."

He slowed his walking to scan the tall grass. Feet away, Jackson was holding his prized Springfield rifle so lovingly in his grasp.

"Hey Mellish, she's not a damn pussy cat. Havn't you ever 'eard of '_element of surprise?"_

Next to Jackson, Rieben was concentrating on the field.

"Let's just wipe her out and be done with it." He said.

Horvath and Miller were a ways back, and Upham was even farther back, his face spattered with blood. Caparzo was no where in sight.

_How did they get here? Wade wondered._

Wade didn't know why his squad was doing this but he didn't want to find out. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled as hard as his sore body would let him. He tried but she was strangely heavy, like something didn't want her to be pulled out. He stopped and yanked off his pack and grasped her again.

He pulled with all his strength and with all his heart until her leg had been finally freed and dragged her away from the sink hole. They got up and ran as fast as they could.

"_Hey! Wade's got her!" _

Wade winced at his name. OH GOD! He thought. They recognized him! He's a dead man now!

His blood went cold and he could not catch any breath in his tired lungs. They ran to the line of trees at the edge of the field. He froze and fell to the ground where he grasped his helmet and looked into the girl's green eyes.

"This can't be real. It's not real! It's not _REAL_!" Wade whispered to the still girl. She nodded.

"I don't _want_ to die! You've come to save me?" She whimpered. Wade felt a stab in his heart. He couldn't save her. He just didn't know how.

Suddenly, Jackson popped out of the bushes and grabbed Wade from behind. The girl screamed in surprise.

"SO! Here's our medic! You run off and I couldn't find you. Are you helping the enemy here?" He whispered in Wade's ear. His voice wasn't cold but did not seem very nice right now.

"Jackson! What the hell is going on here I'm on your side, asshole!" Wade yelled, trying to fling Jackson off of him. Sergeant Horvath came trundling into the trees. His face tired from running, followed by Capt. Miller, Upham, Mellish and Rieben.

_Well, go on to the next and final chapter! If you guys want things changed let me know! I'll do my best. Even if you want more chapters. S'okay to me._


	3. Our father

"She f--king killed Caparzo! The little broad! We went to clear the house and she popped out of the pantry a-an-and ran a blade right clean through him. Let's kill her!"

Horvath screamed at Rieben, who aimed a hand gun to her head. Miller was silent while he looked at Wade. Wade looked back at him.

"Captain! This isn't right! She just a little girl. She didn't mean to."

Wade bellowed to his former comrades. The girl clung to his chest as Jackson, behind him, had his arms around his torso, holding him still.

They looked like an odd trio of lovers, clasping on to each other tightly. He stared at Miller. Miller turned his head slightly to Rieben, not taking his eyes off of Wade.

"Kill him too."

Wade's face spread with shock. So did everyone else except Reiben and Upham.

Mellish and Horvath were surprised. "_Captain?"_ Mellish whispered.

Jackson's face changed slightly as he looked at Reiben. "Hey, Reiben....I don't think-"

"Do you want to get 'it' too, hic?"

Jackson losened his grip on Wade just slightly and solemly glared at Reiben.

Upham had not even said a word, just looked interested at blood that was drying on his hands. Wade wasn't sure if Upham really knew what was happening.

Miller walked away from the tree line into the field. He looked down at his feet. The girl sobbed even harder. "Please! I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She ran towards Rieben, holding out her arms.

A banging sound echoed through the trees as Rieben fired. She jolted back from the blow; her knees came out in front of her as she fell backwards on the dirt. Everyone grew silent. Wade stared at Rieben.

"You son of a bitch! This is _crazy_! I swear Rieben I will tear you apart!" But instead he ran to the bleeding girl, her mouth gurgled as blood flooded her lungs. She tried to speak.

"Don't speak. Try to breath." He fumbled for his pack and horrible realization struck him. He dropped his pack! He found the bullet hole. It had penetrated right under her left rib cage. He cursed and his tears rolled down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry. . . . ." He grabbed her head and pulled it towards him. Her breathing started to slow down. She was moaning with pain and blood kept bubbling on to the ground.

Jackson, who had let go of Wade, looked at Rieben with uncertainty in his gaze.

"This is bullshit...." Mellish said.

"Ya'll got that right." Jackson said, looking down at Wade and the now lifeless girl.

Rieben held the hand gun and was pointing it at Wade's stomach now.

_One. . . . ._

He now looked at Upham who had his rifle in his hands, totally focused on Wade. A blank stare in his eyes.

_Two. . . . . . ._

Jackson looked over at Mellish, who had now pulled out his rifle and was loading fresh ammunition. Mellish looked sick.

_Three. . . . . . . ._

Beside him, Horvath had a luger in his hand and started to aim.

_Four. . . . . ._

They all looked at Jackson now. He shook his head, then sighed as he cocked his Springfield shooter and looked down at Wade, who was now realizing what was going to happen. Wade stared at Jackson, eyes pleading. "Jackson, come on....you..."

"Make your peace with the lord, Wade. God almighty _I'll miss you_." He said quietly but so everyone would hear. He aimed at Wade's lower right chest-and prayed -

"Our Father....... . . . ."

_Five. . . . . . . _

Echoing shots was heard through the trees.

* * *

Wade heard somebody say, "Oh, Wade, oh, Jesus Christ," then realizing it was Capt. Miller looking down at the four bullets stitched across the medic's abdomen and the fifth in the lower right chest. Wade was having trouble breathing. Upham, stunned, said,

"They're not supposed to shoot _medics_, they're not supposed to shoot medics!"

Wade realized were he was. At the satellite bunker they were suppose to take. He remembered going after Jackson when the German machine nest clipped his arm. Jackson went down.

He was so scared he had been hit real badly. He jumped over some bodies to get to him and then he felt the tears in his gut. Horror and shock at this realization! He was on his back, his mouth spitting up blood.

"Wh-wh-where am I?" Wade asked. Miller, his eyes frenzy with panic, looked at him.

"Your going to be okay, Wade. Just hang in there. . . . ."

Mutiple hands, Miller's among them, were grabbing and ripping through Wade's medical pack in a flurry. Other hands were tearing Wade's shirt open, baring the five terrible wounds, and everbody was talking and shouting all at once.

"Sulfa," Miller said to Jackson, who was rummaging through the medical pack with him, "gimme the sulfa. . . ."

"He was helpin' me, _goddamn_ it," Jackson said. "Comin' after _me_. . . . . ."

Wade looked up at each of their faces, the pain so immense he could not stop his body from convulsing.

"Y-y-you shot me. . . . .You all SH-sh-OT ME!" He started to push their hands away with pathetic weakness. He heard one of them say "HUH?" and "No Wade, the Germans shot you." And "We're loosin' him . . . . ."

He could hear fear and panic in their voices.

"It's Ok. Your going to be fine...."

"Prop his legs up....."

"Wh-where's the girl? I-I-Is she okay?" Wade questioned weakly. No one answered.

"He's hallucinating. . . . .," Upham's voice quavered.

Mellish was trying to hold his hands down on the one wound.

"_Shit_," Sarge said, hunkered over the bleeding medic, "get some pressure on it. . . ."

"Help me out Upchuck!" Mellish yelled. Upham got down and helped. Jackson was not his usual cool country self. "Oh, God, oh, Jesus!"

"Sulfa, where's the sulfa," Miller was saying.

"Fuck sulfa, he needs morphine!"

They injected the morphine, pouring sulfa, blood everywhere in a blur of help and panic and adrenaline.

_It was all just a dream....not real.....his memory.....going bad, maybe fading. _

"Wade? _Wade_? Can you hear me?" Miller said, hovering over the medic. Wade looked at him with distant eyes and a feeble smile.

"How's it look?"

"You're fine," Miller said. "You'll be okay. . . . ."

Wade grabbed Miller's coat with surprising strength. "Don't lie to the Doctor. . . . ."

Miller swallowed the lump in his throat. "Hell, I don't know, Wade. Doesn't look so good."

The morphine taking effect, Wade tried to sit up and see his wounds but couldn't.

"Am I. . . . am I shot in the. . . . .spine?"

They lifted him up.

"exit wound right on. . . .about the size of an acorn."

Wade gulped in air but more of a sob. "I . . . . . can't move," Wade said his voice thinning.

"You're not dead, Wade, goddamn it!" Mellish insisted, working to keep the blood in his chest cavity.

"let me . . . .let me feel . . . ."

They helped him put his finger in one of the bullet wounds. Blood bubbled up past his finger. The half awake Doctor tried to determine the severity of the wounds by feel.

"Any . . . .anything. . . . . bleeding worse than others. . . .?

"Yeah, me and Upham are pressing on it." Mellish said, "I don't think we oughta move our hands."

"Show me. . . . gotta feel. . . ."

Wade's expression was not of pain but of a child holding back tears to be brave. "Oh, God. . . . .it's my liver. . . . my liver. . . ."

"Tell us what to do. Tell us how to fix you!"

Wade's eyes looked at Capt. Miller sending him and his friends an unmistakable message--

_.. . ...It's over; nothing you can do......._

His voice suddenly calm, resignation softened his tone. "I could use. . . . .little extra morphine. . . . Really could. . . . ."

Eyes locked, Miller knew exactly what his friend was asking him to do.

"More morphine. . . . .," the captain said to Horvath. Sarge gave him another injection.

"R-Rieben?"

"Yeah, Wade?" Rieben reached out and held Wade's blood slimed hand.

"I'm sorry. . . . about what I said to you. . . . .earlier."

Rieben's eyes misted over for a moment then he smiled and nodded at the medic. "Okay, Irwin. It will be alright buddy."

Sarge injected more morphine for the third time into his body. Jackson tried to wipe away the blood from Wade's mouth.

Wade glanced past their faces hovering over him, onto the muddy field. He drowned out the sounds of the people who were trying to somehow save him.

He could see the dead cows lying askew in the tall green grass. He thought he caught a glimpse of a girl, looking directly at him. _Maybe she was an angel_, he thought.

_Yes. I think she is an angel_. He remembers what angels were. His mom used to tell him bedtime stories about such creatures. She was very sweet and beautiful.....so kind....

_I'm coming, don't worry._

"Jackson. . . ." Wade muttered.

"Right here, Wade."

"Lord's . . . . Lord's prayer. . . ."

"Wade, its not.....don't do this shit to me. You'll pull through...."

Wade, hands stilled by the morphine, grabbed the collar of Jackson's coat. Pulling him closer for him to hear his fading, raspy voice-

"Jackson...nothing, can...just please, for me. I have to go...." They gazed for but a moment at each other.

Jackson drew in a tired breath, knowing now this will be the last time he will get to talk with his pal. He held Wade's face in his hands, as if the southern boy were blessing the dying soldier....

Jackson nodded and began. "Our Father. . . . ."

................................._.**the end...................................................**_

**Well, yeah. It was a dumb ish ending but so? see ya later!**


End file.
